Question: What is worse than one big end-of-year high-stakes standardized test?Answer: A dozen or more little high-stakes personalized tests every single day.

Have you ever felt like legislators, the Governor, USDE, NYSED, Congress, and the President are ‘stalling’ or ‘pacing’ when it comes to making changes to education policy? They throw us some scraps and pretend it is a big deal. They put together yet another phony task force or listening tour to make it look like our voices are being heard. They admit to the public that there is too much standardized testing, but they do very little. They tell us that parents have the right to opt-out, and then they try to slow down change, almost as if they are pacing themselves for something. But what are they stalling for?

Over the last three and a half years, I purposely laid out very solid principles for myself because that is the only way to prevent oneself from getting sucked into these games. These principles have steered me away from many traps along the way, including being part of the ‘stalling’ process above. But I still could not put my finger on exactly what this stalling and pacing tactic was being used for. In NYS state, the opt-out movement made state standardized tests pretty much invalid with over 225,000 refusing participation. You can’t very well compare schools when some schools only had 25% of students participating in the tests while others had near 100% participation. But why then is the Government still clinging so tightly to an invalid system that has already fallen?

NOW IT’S CLEAR!!! They are not clinging. They are stalling, pacing and stringing us along as the next generation of education deforms is not quite ready to be deployed. They still need a couple more years before the technology and infrastructure is entirely ready to go. And they need our opt-out movement to remain active to help usher in their new deform package. It’s called Competency Based Education (CBE). And, when it is ready, they will magically say that the parental opt-out movement was correct all along, and change is needed immediately. CBE will be there to save the day, and they will tell us that our opt-out movement forced the change and that we should be proud Americans for using the democratic process to our advantage.

I’m no expert on CBE, but let me describe it in basic terms. Think of it as a video game. They put our children on a computer tablet with a software program that functions like a video game. The student is given a set of tasks that are ‘personalized’ to their current ability level. When the student correctly completes that task they are rewarded like getting to the next level on a video game. The student is given a ‘badge’ for successfully completing the task, and then they move on to the next ‘level of the video game’. Maybe they do dozens of these each day. Every touch to the tablet is recorded as data, and the teacher and school are evaluated based on the growth and achievement of the student.

It’s basically like training a dog. If you ‘rollover’ you get a treat (badge). ‘Sit’ and you get a treat (badge). ‘Lie down’ and you get a treat. Kids have already been programmed for this through video games. The purpose of school becomes ‘get to the next level of the game’, not ‘develop an independent well-rounded person capable of ingenuity’. This is a recipe to create a massive standardized workforce and an obedient Skinnerian civilization all under the guise of ‘personalization’. The amount of money to be made by corporations under the CBE model dwarfs the amount of money being made under the current end-of-year standardized test model. Think about how much more software will be needed so that every child has a functioning tablet. Think about how many software updates will be needed on a daily basis. Think about the amount of data that will need to be stored and analyzed.

The opt-out movement is the ‘basic training’ that we needed so that we can move to the next level of resistance. Obviously, it would be very difficult to create an opt-out movement to refuse dozens of personalized high-stakes exercises every single day. But we have learned how to resist through the current opt-out movement. We have learned how to establish principles. We have learned how to assemble, protest, and effectively spread the word. I have not yet visualized a clear path to defeating CBE, as I had with annual high-stakes testing, but that path must been seen VERY SOON if we are going to save public education.

For my own family, we have been able to still prosper, while remaining in the public education system, by refusing high-stakes tests and forcing changes in our local school district. But once CBE becomes nationally embedded into the daily classroom environment it will be much more difficult to justify a healthy education for my children while remaining in the public education system. If we don’t stop it now, many families like my own, may be forced to seek cover in private schools, thereby worsening the achievement gap in the country and actually assisting in the collapse of public education. I don’t want to be part of that collapse. I want to remain in the public system. So, we have to act quickly.

We MUST force 500,000 opt-outs this year so that more families become empowered to take the ‘basic training’ and resist. We MUST force 500,000 opt-outs so the system of high-stakes testing is completely removed before CBE can take root. We MUST set our principles and resist the urge to be part of the ‘stalling’ process. We MUST call-out those that are using these stalling tactics. And, we MUST find a clear path to defeat CBE and all that comes with it.

Last April, parents of 240,000 NYS students opted-out of State tests (about 20%). The main reasons include the toxic connection between student test scores and employee/building evaluations, the excessive administration of tests in general, the overreliance on testing, the invasive collection of private student data, and the shift toward an attack on public schools.

But a new survey administered by Commissioner Elia and the NYS Education Department also reveals that now only 71% of respondents are satisfied with the Common Core Standards themselves. This indicates that, with 29% dissatisfied with the standards alone, opt-out numbers will rise by 9% without even considering dissatisfaction with testing, evaluations, data collection, and the attack on public schools.

Until now, the standards themselves have been the least worry, but with 29% of respondents now admitting dissatisfaction with the standards alone, opt-out numbers will rise faster than ever. This, coupled with thousands of parents educating other parents about the toxic nature of testing and the attack on public education, will likely lead to a half million students refusing NYS tests next Spring.

What scares Governor Cuomo, President Obama, and corporate educationreformers more than 'the opt-out movement as a protest'? The answer is 'theopt-out movement as a way of life'.

If your head hurts because someone is hitting it with a hammer, then the easy peaceful solution is to get out of the way of the hammer.

If your child’s education hurts because someone is hitting it with a hammer, then the easy peaceful solution is to get out of the way of the hammer.

In April of 2015, parents of over 220,000 students got out of the way of the hammer by not participating in NYS standardized tests. Saying “no” to NYS standardized tests is not simply a protest. It is a solution in itself to protect our children right now, today, for a better way of life. Parents have decided to avoid the hammer. This has afforded them a way to remain in the public school system while at the same time protecting their children. By opting-out of NYS tests parents protect their child from being used as a tool for evaluating employees in the work marketplace. By opting-out of NYS tests parents protect their child from some of the excessive test prep that other students are subjected to. By opting-out of NYS tests parents protect their child from believing that one test defines them. By opting-out of NYS tests parents protect their child from believing that their purpose for being in school is to do well on one test so that their school is not closed or teacher fired. By opting-out of NYS tests parents protect their child from believing that ELA and Math are more important than all other subjects.

Their is much more that must be done by legislators to protect children, but parents will always take their own steps to protect their own children. This is why they opt-out. It is a way of life in as much as it is a protest. Legislators can decide to do more to help parents protect their children by creating legislation that:

1.) Completely disconnects student tests from teacher and school evaluations2.) Removes the Common Core Standards and replaces them with the previous NYS Standards3.) Reduces state testing requirements to only once in grade 4 and once in grade 84.) Makes it illegal to collect student data without written permission from the parent

But, until legislators step-up and do their duty to protect children, parents will provide solutions, on their own, for the well-being of their own children. Parent will ALWAYS provide their own solutions to protect their children. And, parents will ALWAYS teach other parents how to protect their children because they are passionate about the precious relationship between a parent and a child.

Saying “no” to NYS standardized testing is not negative. It is a positive, peaceful solution, that leads by example, to protect our children. Is a parent protecting their own child negative? Of course not. In fact, it is a parental duty and responsibility to protect one’s child. The negativity comes from those who insist on continuing to swing the hammer at those who simply want to keep their children out of harm’s way.

No responsible, loving parent is going to allow someone else to decide that it is ok to impose harmful practices on one's child. Legislators directly decide what goes onto paper and becomes law, but they are not the ones who ultimately decide. It is those who most influence legislators that ultimately decide. Up until 3 years ago, legislators had been most influenced by corporate education reformers. But, for very personal and non-political reasons, parents have said that they are going to get out of the way of this hammer to protect their own children. So, now parents are one of the ultimate decision makers through their refusal of NYS standardized tests. The only way to prevent parents from deciding what is best for their children is to take away their rights and oppress them. Otherwise, parents can be the ones who will ultimately decide.

Parents in NYS have made history with their opt-out movement as a protest. But once parents show Governor Cuomo, President Obama, and corporate education reformers that the opt-out movement is a permanent way of life, a solution, and not simply a protest, change will happen. For many parents opting-out was a way of life from day one. But right now, the Governor, the President and corporate education reformers are still getting parents to 'dance' with them at the ring of a bell. As parents focus more on showcasing the principles of opting-out as a way of life and focus less on 'dancing' when the bell is rung, real change will happen.WHAT THE GOVERNMENT FEARS MOST IS OPT-OUT AS A WAY OF LIFE. CHANGE WILL COME FASTER AND FASTER AS PARENTS GAIN THE WISDOM TO SHOWCASE OPT-OUT AS THE NEW WAY OF LIFE. It is a time to lead by showcasing principles and NOT dancing when the bell is rung. Resist the urge to dance. Live life according to your principles.

Author

Eric Mihelbergel is one of the original founders of NYS Allies for Public, Western New Yorker's for Public Education, and NYS Refuse the Test. Eric has personally helped thousands of parents across the state of NY to fight against high-stakes testing. He is an avid public speaker on education issues including how to refuse NYS tests, and he has authored many articles. In the spring of 2015, Eric successfully helped parents of over 220,000 students coordinate the boycotting of NYS Common Core tests.